Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir strongly condemned the social media trolling of pacer Harshit Rana following the conclusion of the Test series against West Indies at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 14.

Harshit Rana has often been targeted for being labeled a 'Gambhir favourite' or 'yes-man' to Team India head coach, as the critic linked his selection across all formats to his association with Gautam Gambhir. Former India batter and BCCI chief selector, Kris Srikkanth, criticized the Delhi bowler selection to the India squad for the ODI and T20I series against Australia, alleging that his inclusion was based on favourtism rather than based on merit.

Harshit Rana, who also hails from Delhi, worked with Gautam Gambhir during his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders, where the former India opener served as a mentor in IPL 2024, and the young pacer credited him for shaping his bowling mindset and on-field aggression.

Gambhir Furious at Online Abuse against Harshit

Speaking at the press conference following India's 2-0 clean sweep of West Indies, Gautam Gambhir slammed online abuse targeting Harshit Rana, stating that it's 'shameful' to target the 23-year-old to run a YouTube channel, taking an indirect dig at Kris Srikkanth and critics for his selection to the squad.

Gambhir added that Harshit was selected based on his merit rather than personal connection in the selection committee.

“Look, it's a little shameful, and I'll be honest with you. It's unfair that you are not even sparing a 23-year-old kid to run your YouTube channels. It's unfair because, after all, his father is not some ex-chairman, an ex-cricketer, or an NRI,” Team India head coach said.

“Whatever cricket he has played, he has played on his own merit, and in the future too, he will play on his own merit. You can target the performance if you want. Target me, I am fine; he is just a 23-year-old kid. Not just Harshit, but anyone,” he added.

GAMBHIR ABOUT TROLLING HARSHIT RANA:"It's a little shameful that you are targeting a 23 year old personally - Harshit's father is not an ex chairman. It is not fair that you target an individual. Social media trolling is just not right & imagine the mindset. Anyone's kid will... twitter/EcKIyCWkMU

- Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 14, 2025

Following his breakthrough IPL season in 2024, Harshit Rana earned his maiden national call-up for the first two matches of the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe in July that year, but he did not get a single game. Thereafter, the 23-year-old was drafted to the India ODI for the Sri Lanka series, which was Gautam Gambhir's first assignment as a head coach.

Rana made his international debut in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia in Perth. He was part of Indian squad that won the Asia Cup this year, defeating Pakistan in the final.

Harshit Rana among the Key Bowlers for the Australia Tour

Team India pacer Harshit Rana has been added to both the ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia, which will start on October 19.

With Jasprit Bumrah being rested for the Australia ODI series, Harshit is expected to play a key role in India's pace attack alongside Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna in ODIs. In the T20Is, Rana is expected to play a supporting role alongside spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh in the pace attack.

Harshit Rana was not picked in the recently concluded Test series against West Indies, as the selectors picked the other pace bowling options, which included Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna. The upcoming white-ball series against Australia offers an important opportunity for Harshit to cement his place in India's limited-overs setup and showcase his skills on the international stage.

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